Foldable hat-holder



(No Model.)

J. W. THAYER. FOLDABLB HATHOLDBR.

Patented Nov. 28, 1893 Arm/Mrs ml NA'HONAL LITHWINO collFANv.

WABH "are" u c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JUSTIN W. TIIAYER, OF WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOLDABLE HAT-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 509,832, dated November 28, 1893.

Application filed January 18, 1893. Serial No. 458.830. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JUSTIN W. THAYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Whitman, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foldable Hat-Hold ers; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of themvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in foldable hat holders designed to afford aoonvenient means for hanging a hat on a nail, hook or any other convenient place; and the object in view is to provide a simple and cheap means adapted to be readily fitted in any kind of a hat, particularly stiff hats, and having a suspending arm can be compactly folded within the hat to enable the same to be Worn without removing the holder and at the same time provide for the extension or projection of the suspending arm beyond the edge or brim of the hat, to permitthe same to be conveniently hung up on a hook, 850.

With these and such other ends in view as pertain to my invention, it consists of a ring provided with a radial stiff arm and a yielding arm on said stiff arm, and a suspending arm or hook pivoted on the stiff arm of the ring and formed with a crank designed to bear against the yielding arm which exerts sufficient tension on said crank and the suspending arm or hook to hold the suspending arm or hook in its unfolded or folded positions.

The invention further consists in the combination and construction of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is aperspective view of my improved holder, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail View of the hinge or joint,and the locking mechanism, between the foldable arm and the ring or annulus. Fig. 3 is a sectional View through a hat with my improved holder therein adjusted in position for hanging the hat on a nail, hook, or other place; and Fig. 4 is a similar view through a hat with the suspending arm or hook folded therein so that the hat can be worn without interference from the holder.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings, referring to which- A designates my improved holder, which consists essentially of a ring or annulus, 'B, and a foldable arm 0 connected with said annulus and adapted to be turned within the limits of the ring or to be projected beyond the ring according as it is desired to hang the hat or to wear the same on the head. This ring is bent or formed from a single piece of wire, preferably of stout steel or other elastic wire, and this ring or annulus is made so that its diameter can be enlarged or contracted to enable the ring or annulus to be fitted in hats of differentsizes. To this end, one end of the wire is bent into a loop or eye a which is fitted on the ring, and the other end of the wire is bent into a stiff arm 0 and a loop 0 which likewise fits around the ring or annulus, whereby the loops a, 0, can be moved on the ring to enlarge or contract the ring and thereby adapt it to hats of different sizes; also permit the ring to be removed and inserted with ease.

The stiff arm 0 extends inwardly into the ring or annulus, preferably radially thereto, andsaid arm is then bent at right angles, as at cl, to form the trunnion or pivot for the foldable suspending arm 0, after which the stiff arm is bent still farther inwardly and finally returned or bent upwardly upon itself to form the spring arm 6. This spring arm, 9, has at its inner end the lateral prong f, and at an intermediate point of its length this spring arm 6 is formed with the incline or eccentric portion f, for a purpose presently explained.

The suspending arm 0 is made or bent from a single piece of wire, and at its outer end it is formed into a hook or curved part c adapted to take over a hook, nail, tack or other projection. This arm 0 is bent at an intermediate point of its length to enable the same to take around the ring or annulus, and the inner end of the suspending arm is coiled to provide the loop g, and bent to form the crank t'. This loop 9 is fitted loosely on the part (1 which forms the pivot or hinge connection between the suspending arm and thestiif arm' a of the expansible ring or annulus, and the crank 'L of the suspending arm bears against the curved eccentric part f of the spring arm e which exerts sufficient tension or pressure on the crank and the suspending arm to hold the latter in its adjusted positions.

The method of using my hat holder is as follows: To adjust the holder in a hat, the sweat band of the hand is turned outward from the brim of the hat, and the ring is adjusted or contracted to enable the same to be fitted in the hat; and when the ring is fitted in the hat it expands so that it bears firmly against the hat and holds itself in position therein, after which the sweat-band is turned down over the ring, to conceal the latter, while the stifi arm 0 extends into the hat to cause the pivot or hinge to clear the sweat-band. To use the device for suspending the hat,the arm 0 is turned on the pivot 11 to cause the main part and hook of the arm to project beyond the rim of the hat in the position indicated by Fig. 3 of the drawings. The hook of the arm can be fitted over a hook, nail, or other projection to suspend the hat, while the spring arm 6 bears or impinges against the crank with sufficient force to hold the suspending arm inits adjusted position. To enable the hat to be worn, after it is removed from the hook or nail, the foldable arm G is turned or adjusted within the crown of the hat in the position shown by Fig. 4E, and the spring arm e again bears on the crank to hold the arm 0 within the crown of the hat.

My device is very simple and cheap of construction, being composed or made of only two pieces of wire, and it can be very easily applied to a hat which can be worn without hinderance from the hold'eror it can be unfolded to hang the hat from a hook, or other object, in a manner to prevent the hat from being knocked 0d the hook, 850.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of construction of the mechanism herein shown and described can be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore hold myself at liberty to make such modifications and alterations as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as .new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an article of manufacture, a hat holder comprising a suitable band or annulus provided with a yielding arm, a foldable arm pivoted to said annulus or band, and a crank rigid with the foldable arm and bearing against the yielding arm of the annulus, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. As an article of manufacture, a hat holder comprising an expansible band or annulus, a foldable arm connected to a rigid part of the band or annulus, and means for locking the foldable arm in its adjusted positions, substantially as described.

3. As an article of manufacture, ahat holder comprising a suitable band or annulus,a stiff arm carried by said band and provided with the yielding arm, and a foldable arm pivoted on the stiff arm and provided with a crank that bears or impinges against the yielding arm, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

4. As an article of manufacture, a hat holder comprising a band provided with the stiff arm forming the pivot 01 and the yielding arm extending in rear of said trunnion or pivot d of the stilt arm, a foldable arm having the coil fitted on the trunnion or bend at of the stiff arm, and the crank rigid with the foldable arm and bearing against the yielding arm, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a suitable band or annulus, of the stifi. arm formed with the trunnion d and the yielding arm provided with the inclined part f, and the foldable arm 0 fitted on the trunnion d and provided with the crank that bears or rides against the curved part f of the yielding arm, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JUSTIN W. THAYER' Witnesses:

H. F. COPELAND, M. W. LINCOLN. 

